October 7 – Merchant Holiday in Antigua and Barbuda

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nA “merchant holiday” is supposed to be a chance for people who own stores to close up shop, gather with their families, and enjoy a day of relaxation. For many families, it’s a chance to get out into nature.

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nBut Hurricane Irma in early September walloped this tiny island nation. Barbuda was the first island in the Caribbean hit by the hurricane – and, with wind speeds reaching 295 km/h (185 mph), almost every single building and other bit of infrastructure (roads, bridges, pipes, electrical grids) was damaged or destroyed.

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nThank goodness, almost everyone on the island had been evacuated to Antigua by boat – actually, before Hurricane José, one hurricane before Irma!
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nAaaaannnnndd…now Barbuda is basically uninhabitable. For the first time in 300 years, nobody lives on Barbuda.
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nHopefully, repairs can be made within the next few weeks (or months?) and Barbudans can go home. In the meantime, the almost 2,000 Barbudans are making a strain on the 80 thousand or so who live in Antigua. I couldn’t find any info on hurricane damage to that nearby island, so I can only presume that the worst part of the storm missed it – thank goodness!
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nFamous actor Robert DeNiro is one owner of property on Barbuda, and he says he is committed to rebuilding “what nature has take away from us.” 
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nHere are some photos of Barbuda on sunnier days:
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nHopefully the island can recover!
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nAlso on this date:

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nWorld Card Making Day
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nBirthdays of musicians Yo-Yo Ma and Toni Braxton
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nYou Matter to Me Day 

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nAnniversary of the “discovery” of Catalina Island

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nPhysicist Niels Bohr’s birthday

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nAnniversary of the invention of the bar code

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nAfrican Penguin Awareness Day

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nPlan ahead:

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nCheck out my Pinterest boards for:

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• nOctober holidays

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• nOctober birthdays

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• nHistorical anniversaries in October

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And here are my Pinterest boards for:
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• nNovember holidays

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• nNovember birthdays

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• nHistorical anniversaries in November
  

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